Rotary printing press ink fountain



E. W. WORTHINGTON ROTARY PRINTING PRESS INK-FOUNTAIN Aug. 19, 1941.

Filed May l, 1939 fill/111111,11

lll/ll H may ramadan.' 19, `1594i "UNIT- so STA-'rss' 4lui'rsla'r'ori-lcs :,ssalss The invention relates to new and useful improvements inmethods and mechanisms for supplying ink to the plate cylinders ofrotary printing presses, and more especially to such methods andmechanisms for cutting oi! the vfountain ink supply from parts of theplates. such as cutting o8V the ink supply from page-wide areas or plateunits on'the plate cylinder.

The invention consists in the novel methods,f

steps, sequences, mechanisms andccombinations disclosed in thespecification and pointed' out in the appended clagns. v

Objects and adv tages of the invention are set out in parthereinafter.,and in part will be obvious to those skilled in the art ormay be learned bypractice with the invention. Y

'Ille accompanying drawing. referred to'herein andconstituting a parthereof, illustrates one mechanical embodimentof the invention and onemanner of carrying out the methodof the invention. i

f the drawing: Fig. llista vertical transverse section through an inkfountain embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan on line 2-2 of F18- 1: n

Fig. 3 is a broken detail section corresponding the parts in a differentposition; and

' Fig. 4 is a detached enlarged detailfof the upper right hand part ofFig. l.

Objects of the invention are to provide a novel eiilciently cutting of!selected or desired areas of inking surface along the fountain roller,the operating umts being usually one page wide. which,

with the usual plate cylinder arrangement of rotary newspaper presses,will cut olf the inking for any two platesaround the plate cylinder; toprovide such means which will operate in con- Junction with the usualink regulating mechanism associated with the fountain roller and is`welladapted to operate in commotion with a pick-up roller type ofinking mechanism, and to provide for cutting oif the ink from anypredetermined or selected area of the fountain roller ahead of the inkregulating means4 which acts along the f entire fountain roller; toprovide -such means having. a page-wide blade adapted to be moved intoengagement"with and away from the founf tain roller, employing, if andwhen desired, presto the upper central part of Fig. ibut showing methodof controlling at the fountain` the supply of'ink to, or withholding theink' supply from, predetermined selected areas of the inking mechanismand of the plates on the plate cylinder,

ink from page-wide areas, that is from unit plates on lthe platecylinder; .to provide such control of the inl:` supply by doubleregulation of the ink m layer or ink nlm along the fountain roller,particularly inthe type of inking mechanism where and `preferably tothus supply `or withhold the the ink is conveyed from the fountainroller to a 'Y non-contacting ink conveying or nick-up miler,

wherein, the amount of ink transferred from the fountain roller' to thepick-up roller being regulated by the relation of the thickness of theink layer on. the fountain `roller `to the free spacev -between thefountain roller andthe pick-up roller.'l and for the other 'or furtherregulation, in selected4 or predetermined non-printing areas,

such as page-wide or plate unit areas, the thickness of the film layeron the fountain roller is reduced so that no ink will be taken by thepiclrup roller. Further obiects of the invention are Surefregulatingmeans to control the wiping action of the blade-on the roller; toprovide mechanism of the kind described adapted for use with 'inkingfountains of. standard commercial form:

to provide such mechanism which is readily insertable into andwithdrawable from standard ink `fountain mechanisms; to provide suchmechanisms which are pivotally mounted for move'- ment into and'out ofoperative relation with the fountain roller, and have screw-threadedmeans for moving the mechanism into and out of operative relation withthe fountain roller; to provide such mechanism manually insertable intoand withdrawable from the fountain mechanism and into and out ofrelation with its pivotal mounting and screw-threadedl positioning andregulating means.

Referring now .by way of example to the embodiment of the inventionillustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawing, an inkfountain i is suitably mounted upon the press frame and, as shown, thefountain is suspended from a cross member `2 lof they press frame,iand adriven rotatable fountain roller I is mounted in the fountain. Theinkvis taken from the fountain roller l by a pick-up roller l. In thistype of mechanisml the roller'l is driven rotay tively from the inkingmechanism, and is spaced a slight distance from the fountain roller l,the space between the two rollers being minutely regulated. Thethickness of the ink lm on the rotating fountain roller 3 is also nicelyregulated, and the relation of these two governs the amount of inksupplied from the fountain roller to the inking mechanism. .In theembodied form tween the fountain roller 3 and pick-up roller 4. thepick-up roller is mounted in a pair of arms 5, xed'on a shaft 6,Journaled in the press frame.' Fixed to shaft 6 is a yoked arm 1, whichstraddles a 'screw-threaded pin 8 between two nuts 3 and 9'. 'I'hus thespace between fountain roller 3 and pick-up roller 4 may be veryaccurately and minutely regulated. in cooperation with the regulation ofthe thickness of theink film on the fountain roller. The illustratedform of means for regulating the thickness of the ink iilm on thefountain roller 3 comprises a plurality of resilient blades I which areusually of page or press width, and are supported on the underneath sideof the frame member 2 by means of a supporting bar II, extending alongbeneath the rear ends of the blades I0, this bar being fastened to thebeam 2 by screw bolts I2, thus clamping the rear ends of the bladesagainst the beam. The forward ends of the blades I0 are contiguous tothe fountain roller 3, and the intervening spaces are minutely regulatedby means of a' plurality of screw rods I3, screw threaded into the beam2, the points of the rods bearing on the upper face of the blades I0 andflexing the ends of the blades toward or from the fountain roller 3.Thus the relation of the thickness of the ink lm and the space betweenfountain roller 3 and pick-up roller 4 may be closely regulated. Asuitable closure I4 -is provided for the rear end of the fountain, thisclosure consisting of a plate hinged to the beam 2 at I5.

Means are provided for cutting off the ink supply for various areasalong the ,fountain roller, as, for example, page width areas, and thismeans may operate to wipe the corresponding part of the fountain rollersurface substantially clear of ink, or, where a pick-up roller isemployed, to reduce the thickness of the ink film on the fountain rollerso that the pick-up roller will not take any ink on to its correspondingarea. The embodied mechanism is of this type, and operates on thefountain roller ahead, or beneath the mechanism for regulating thethickness'of the ink film on the roller. Saidl mechanism comprises foreach` of such units, that is, each page-- wide or plate-wide unit, acarrier frame 20, the

frame having at its forward end a blade seat 2| onv which is seated alongitudinally-disposed wiping blade 22 adapted to engage with thesurface of the fountain roller 3. The blade 22 is held firmly in itsseat 2i by a superposed, longitudinally-extending clamping bar 23, whichis clamped in position by screws 24 lpassing through glie bar and theblade and threaded into the seat frame 20 is readilyv insertable andfrom which it is readily withdrawable, and around which it is movable toexert the desired pressure on thel fountain roller, is located at therear end of the fountain. As embodied, the pivotal bearing compriseslugs 21 and 28 fixed to the rear vertical wall of the fountain andprojecting forwardly therefrom. At the rear corners 4of the carrierframe 20 are integral lugs'23 and 30, from which pins 3| and 32 projectoutwardly and rest in cyof the bearings, and are held in place by screwbolts 35.

The embodied m'eans for moving the frame member 20 into and out of inkfilm thinning or ink iiim removing relation with the yfountain roller 3,and, if desired, for regulating the presvof means for minutelyregulating the space be- A pivotal bearing, into which the carrier flindrical seats in the corresponding lugs 21 and 23. Removable plates 33and 34 close the top sure of the wiping blade22 against the fountainroller comprises a rod 38, screw-threaded into the beam 2 and projectingdownwardly therefrom. On the bottom protruding portion of the screw rod38 are two spaced-apart collars 33 and 40, the intervening part `of thescrew rod projecting through an opening 4I in the member 20, the collarsbeing spaced. apart to permit considerable play between rod 38 andcarrier frame 20. By retr-acting the screw rod 38 the carrier 20 will belifted to the inactive position shown in broken line in Fig. 1, by beinglifted by the collar 40. By screwing in the rod 38 the carrier 20 willdrop and the blade 22 will engage the ysurface of the fountain roller 3.'I'he blade 22 may rest by gravity on the surface of vfountain roller 3,thus acting to remove substantially the entireink layer along blade 22.However, if it is desired to apply pressure of blade 22 against thefountain roller, this may be eifected by further screwing down rod 38and collar 39 will press the blade 22 as powerfully as desired againstthe fountain roller. This position of the parts is shown in full line inFig. 1. easy insertion and withdrawalA of the carrier frame 20, theopening 4I therein is in the form of a key-hole'slot. To insert thecarrier frame 2l),A it is introduced from the rear end of the fountain(the right-hand end in Fig. 1), and the collar 40 is passed through thelarge part of the slot 4I, the carriervframe is then/slid forwardly,ythe rod 38 passing into the narrow part of the slot 4I, and the pinsv3I and 32 are seated in their bearings in the lugs 21 and 38. Theretaining plates 33 and 34 are then screwed down in position. Thecarrier frames are yquickly and readily withdrawable in like manner.

The ink-wiping units may be placed side by side lengthwiseof thefountain roller, and are so shown in Fig. 2, a pivotal supporting lug 23being common to two of the carriers.. For example, where the wipingunits are one-page wide, and the form cylinder carries four platesalong, four of the wiping units may be employed, each one controllingthe inking of two plates around. It will be understood ythat theinvention is not limited to the page-wide unit, but may be otherwiseapplied for ink supply control.

The invention consists in the novel steps, se-

quences, elements and combinations as pointed out in the accompanyingclaims, and it will be understood that departures may be made from thespecific forms shown and described without departing from the principlesof the invention and without sacrificing its chief advantages.

WhatIclaimis:

1. In a rotary printing press ink fountain in combination a rotatablefountain roller, a pickup roller spaced from the fountain roller, meansfor regulating the thickness of the ink iilm on the fountain roller, andmeans for independently removing a portion only of the ink film inpagewide areas along the fountain roller to reduce the thickness of theink film on the fountain roller below the thickness of the space betweenthe fountain and pick-up rollers.

2. In a rotary printing press ink fountain in combination a rotatablefountain roller,'a pickup roller, spaced from the fountain roller, meansfor regulating the space between the fountain` To permit quick andfountain roller and pick-up roller at a page-wide ,area around thefountain roller.

3. In a rotary printing press ink fountain in combination a rotatablefountain roller, apick-up roller spaced from the fountain roller, aplurality of side by side blades along the fountain roller forregulating the thickness of the ink nlm on said roller and means movableinto and out of operative position for removing a portion only of theink from a page-wide area around the fountain roller. i*

4. In a rotary printing `press ink fountain in combinationv a. rotatablefountain 'roller'. a. pick-up up roller spaced therefrom regulating thethickness of the ink film in each of a 'plurality of contiguous areas ofless than page-width along the fountain roller to govern the supply ofink to the 'inking system andthe plate cylinder and preliminarilyadditionally removing a portion only ofthe supply of ink by page-wideareas by reducl the plates vof a rotary printing press which comrollerspaced fromA the fountain roller, a plurality ofindividually-positionable column-wide ink-regulatingl blades arrangedalongthe fountain roller, and a page-wideblade removing a l 'fountainroller to govern the supply of ink to the inking system and the platecylinder andV additionally removing a portion only of the supply of inkby page-wide areas along the fountain roller to reduce the thickness ofthe ,ink iilm'on the ing th ethickness of the ink film on'the fountainroll'er so as to prevent contact between the ink film and the pick-uproller.

7. The method of regulating the ink supply to prises applying ink to arotating fountain roller, transferring a predetermined supply of inkfrom the fountain roller to a pick-up' roller spaced i from the fountainroller by regulating the thickness of the ink film on-the fountainroller and preventing transfer of ink from a selectedfarea j to thepick-up roller, and removing a portion only fountainroller below thespacing of the pick-up roller from the fountain roller. I 'la 6. Themethod of regulating the ink' supply to the plates of a rotaryprintingpress which comprises applying ink toa rotating fountain roller,removing ink from the fountain roller by a pickabout the-fountain rollerto the pick-up roller lby removing a portion only of the film of ink onsaid selected varea` of the fountain roller to` a thickness less than'the space between the fountain roller and pick-up roller.

8. The method of regulating the ink supply to the plates of a rotaryprinting press which com- 4 prises applying ink to a rotating fountainroller, removing ink from the fountain roller by a pick- -up rollerspaced therefrom, regulating the thickness of ink on the fountain rolleracross the fountain roller to vary the amount of ink transferred of the'ink on the fountain roller to. reduce the thickness of the film of inkon the fountain roller below .the thickness; of the space between thefountain roller and pick-up roller, to cut oif the ink' supplyv fromcertain areas widthwise of the pick-up roller. l l

- EMORY W. WRTHINGTON.

